Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone Thursday evening to discuss “some aspects of the Syrian peace settlement and the pressing issues on the bilateral agenda,” according to a report from the Kremlin press service.

The phone call between the two leaders came amid reports that Iranian and Hezbollah forces are preparing to withdraw from southern Syria in conjunction with negotiations on the future of the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London based organization monitoring the situation in the country, said had received information regarding negotiations between regional and international parties about the current and future situation of military forces operating in the countryside of Daraa and Quneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights near the border with Israel.

The SOHR said Iranian forces, Hezbollah and affiliated militias would not be allowed into the border area, that rebel and Islamic factions would hand over heavy weapons and border points would be handed over to the regime.

The report follows comments Wednesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that that only Syrian forces should be present in areas alongside the country’s border with Israel and Jordan.

Meanwhile, earlier on Thursday, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman met in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.

Liberman told Shoigu  that “Israel greatly respects Russia’s understanding of our security needs, especially with the situation on our northern border. It is important to continue our dialogue and to keep the lines of communication open between the IDF and Russia.”

According to TASS, Shoigu said that “everything concerning the work on the border between Syria and Jordan was to be discussed, where Russia has an agreement with Amman and Washington.”